AUBURN, Ala. – The road had not been kind to LSU football heading into the showdown with Auburn.
But first-year head coach Lane Kiffin and his team confidently shook off those woes as LSU raced past Auburn, 38-17, inside Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday, Oct. 24.
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt had his best performance in a purple and gold jersey, accounting for four touchdowns in the first half. The strong outing from Leavitt was needed as LSU, which sports one of the top rushing attacks in college football, couldn't find a ton of room to run on the ground.
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Led by cornerback PJ Woodland and linebacker Davhon Keys, LSU's defense had Byrum Brown and Auburn's offense bottled up for most of the afternoon, helping the offense stretch the game out by halftime.
Here's how The Daily Advertiser graded LSU's first road win of the Kiffin era:
Offense: A-
LSU sports one of the top rushing attack in college football. It was tough sledding against Auburn early on.
Despite the running game with sophomore running back Dilin Jones getting off to a slow start, LSU's offense was still able find ways to get Auburn's defense off balance. Kiffin dialed up plenty of misdirection in the passing game, and Leavitt executed the gameplan well. He piled up four TDs by halftime.
In his return from a knee injury, star tight end Trey'Dez Green was targeted on the first offensive play for LSU, and he found the end zone in the second quarter for a touchdown that put LSU up two scores. His presence opened up some things for LSU's passing game, and Leavitt worked efficiently, throwing for three touchdowns.
Defense: A-
Seven of Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown's first 10 rush attempts of this game went for negative yardage. Brown did break one long run of 34 yards that set up Auburn's first touchdown of the game in the second period.
Outside of that run, LSU's defense thoroughly controlled the tempo and operation of the game, forcing Auburn's offense into uncomfortable down and distances. Brown was a nonfactor running the ball, and that in turn got head coach Alex Golesh's offense completely out of sync.
Special Teams: C
There was one bad mistake from Eugene Wilson III in not fielding a punt in the second quarter that had the offense backed up at the 5-yard line. Place kicker Scott Starzyk made his only field goal attempt. Punter Grant Chadwick had his worst punt of the season in the third period, a 27-yard misboot.
Coaching: B+
Kiffin and his staff put arguably its best first half together on both side of the ball. Having the team ready to play on the road at 11 a.m. in a hostile environment from the jump can't be overstated, and putting a conference opponent to bed early in its own house is impressive.
LSU's game MVP: Sam Leavitt
By halftime, Leavitt had amassed four total touchdowns and was surgical in his accuracy to go along with precision in his overall decision-making. His command of Kiffin's offense was on full display for all Auburn to view, and their favorite team's defense simply didn't possess an answer on this Saturday. Leavitt finished with 404 total yards.
Overall LSU grade: A-
This was one of Kiffin and company's best coaching jobs at LSU to date. LSU controlled the game throughout and left little doubt as it rolled Auburn on the road.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football report card | Grading LSU's win over Auburn